The newly built Rock Castle is tall and sturdy, and the outside of the city is empty, and standing on the top of the city wall, you can see everything under the city.

Winter is coming to an end, and the wind with a little warmth brings up a little sand from the ground, and it flies in the air with the chaotic footsteps of people. The melting snow was trampled on, and the white earth outside the city turned into a mud field in an instant. It is like a large group of mules and horses rushing into the waterlogged depression, making a mess, splashing countless mud, suppressing the slight wind, dragging down the sand that leaves the ground, screwing their beautiful dreams of flying high into the sky, and becoming a part of the earth forever.

More than half are women. According to the opinion of the northern barbarians, they are all ugly. There is no fat to be seen on either the waist or the belly, and many people are very thin, their skin is gray and black, and their true color is covered with a lot of dirt. They were hardly wearing trousers, only wrapped in a ragged leather robe, and the legs and feet that stepped forward were large and looked shocking.

The second group is the elderly, who are also thin and look worse off than the women. A lot of people have been gasping for breath, and the long journey is a challenge for them. When they came to the foot of Rock City, they finally got the order to rest, and they just sat in the mud regardless of it, their eyes glazed over, and they gasped for breath.

The number of children is too much, at least more than three thousand by visual inspection. They did not form a group alone and followed their loved ones. Many women have covered their children with their thin leather robes. The scene looked comical, and the black and dirty leather robe suddenly became unusually wide, covering two pairs of uneven feet or stopping. On the surface, it seems to be wrapped in a piece of clothing to keep warm, but in fact, it is to hide the children and let the big people standing on the city wall only see the adults.

Children are of no value, and they are far less effective than adults in exchanging people and cultivating labor during periods of food shortage. They have a large appetite and eat more than adults.

Tianfeng stood on Tianhao's left, his mouth opened involuntarily, he rubbed his hands vigorously, his eyes showed shock and doubt, and he said to himself in disbelief: "How can this be?" How did it come to be like this? It is clearly said that it is a population replacement...... Why are all women and children being delivered? ”

Carrying a huge steel axe of astonishing size on his back at any time has become the most eye-catching symbol on the body of the Heavenly Maniac. He had been following Tianhao, his angry eyes were staring at the people outside the city, and he spat on the ground with thick phlegm: "Third child, have we been wronged by others?" ”

As he spoke, Tianmad turned his head, subconsciously glanced in the direction where Wu Peng was in the distance, and asked in a low voice, "The Great Master shouldn't have lied to you, right?" The people of the Fierce Bull Department did this, clearly to take advantage of us. ”

Tianhao's face was calm.

He was very patient, watching the leader of the fierce bull department who led the team outside the city enter the city gate with the guards, estimating the speed and time of the other party's march, and after more than ten minutes, he didn't say a word, turned around and walked towards the location of the national teacher Wu Peng.

The time was very accurate, and a strong man in a leather jacket happened to walk up the steps to the city wall and salute Wu Peng.

Wu Peng's face was a little ugly, but he maintained due etiquette. Seeing Tianhao walking towards this side from a distance, the expression on the old man's face was a little complicated, and he seemed to be a little undecided.

"Great Brother." Walking closer, Tianhao took a serious salute.

Wu Peng nodded slightly, "hehe" laughed, raised his hand and pointed at the middle-aged man standing on the side: "Let me introduce, this is Yu Zheng, the leader of the Fierce Bull Department." ”

Yu Zheng is good-looking, and he is a beautiful man according to the barbarian opinion. He let out a hearty laugh, standing between Wu Peng and Tianhao, his expression and attitude constantly changing with the guidance of his gaze. For the former, he is always respectful and flattering, and for the latter, the word "arrogance" comes out of his bones at any time, as if it is solidified on his face, a common part of muscle and skin.

"I've seen Your Excellency the City Lord." Although it was an honorific, it was mixed with undisguised sarcasm: "Our king attaches great importance to this population replacement, and I am specially assigned to take full responsibility." If there is no problem, we can now perform human mutilation. ”

Tianhao didn't answer immediately.

He turned his head and turned his inquiring gaze to Wu Peng. At such a close distance, he clearly saw Wu Peng's brows furrowed, his forehead was wrinkled, his hands were clenched tightly in front of him, and the muscles on his thin and shriveled cheeks were slowly twitching a few times, which indicated that the great master was gritting his teeth hard, and there should be a deliberately suppressed anger surging in his heart.

He remained silent and did not speak.

Tianhao took his eyes off the old face and looked at Yu Zheng who was standing opposite: "No problem, as long as the number is counted, you can hand it over at any time." ”

He immediately issued a clear voice: "How many people do you plan to exchange in the Fierce Bull Department?" ”

There was a hint of greed in Yu Zheng's eyes.

The city walls are so high that you can see far inside the city from here. Just 100 meters away, on a construction site, many men and women are building houses. They were strong and wore half-used cotton clothes. Whether it's tamping the foundation or moving building materials, they're fast, and no one is lazy.

These people look good physically, are strong farmers, and are excellent fighters.

"The King of the Bulls brought me his congratulations. Your Excellency the City Lord has won a great victory this time, and he has made outstanding achievements, and he is worthy of being the leader of the younger generation of my Niu clan. As a congratulatory gift, the king asked me to bring a thousand slaves. ”

Yu Zheng is very good at talking, and the thousand slaves who were given as gifts are physically strong, and they are by no means comparable to those old and weak outside the city. In the barbarian dictionary, "slaves" refer specifically to an independent population that has lost their means of production and their families, mostly prisoners of war, and partly due to debts.

"I've brought thirty-six thousand six hundred and seventy-two men with me." Yu Zheng smiled cutely, and his tone became more respectful than just now, at least on the surface, he didn't look so arrogant: "Of course, the exchange method is one-on-one, a pig person, and a cow clansman." ”

Tian Hao couldn't see a trace of a smile on his face: "Is there an exchange of papers?" ”

Yu Zheng nodded hurriedly: "Yes, of course." ”

As he spoke, he lifted the hem of his garment and pulled out two tightly wrapped rolls of animal skin.

Tianhao took the animal skin scroll handed by the other party, and did not rush to untie the tether, he played with the animal skin scroll that still had Yu Zheng's body temperature, and still turned his inquiring gaze to Wu Peng as he did just now, the latter still did not say a word, and showed his attitude of staying out of the matter with his movements and silence.

Tianhao retracted his gaze, looked directly at Yu Zheng, raised the two volumes of animal skins in his hand, and asked playfully, "Why are there two documents?" ”

"When I was writing the first paperwork, the king got the numbers wrong, so I added another one later." Yu Zheng replied with a smile, the words were round and clear.

Tianhao doesn't seem to intend to delve into this matter. He snapped his fingers casually, and the two priests who followed him hurriedly stepped forward, Tianhao handed them the two documents separately, and said seriously: "According to the rules, a priori seal first, and then check the content." ”

Priests who worship the gods never lie. Therefore, whenever there is an important matter, there must be priests or shamans present, who in the name of the gods confirm their noble conduct, ensure their neutrality and impartiality, and are the recognized arbiters of all barbarians.

Yu Zheng's face changed slightly, he subconsciously probed his right hand, and quickly retracted it, his palm hung low, and he clenched it extremely slowly in a position that everyone could not see.

"This volume of documents is stamped with the seal of fire paint, which is the seal of the real king of the fierce bull."

"There is no seal in this volume, only a seal."

In the face of such test results, Tianhao did not say a word. He nodded: "Open it all and read the contents." ”

"Wait!" Yu Zheng walked quickly in front of Tianhao, hurriedly stopped the two priests who were about to read in public, he leaned close to Tianhao, his voice was very low, revealing a deeper flattering expression than just now: "My lord, it's just a population replacement agreement, there's no need to make it so grand, right?" ”

Tianhao stared at Yu Zheng for a long time, and his eyes as pure as water revealed a different kind of consciousness. Hard as crystal, cold as ice, the handsome face becomes a dare not to look directly under the background of these two special temperaments, exuding a strong majesty that arises spontaneously.

He suddenly laughed, his evil expression like the fangs in the mouth of a beast, sharp and bloodthirsty: "Why not? More than 36,000 people, which is not a small number. ”

Yu Zheng opened his mouth, his heart was still full of thoughts that he wanted and had to stop, but he couldn't find the words suitable for the current occasion.

The two priests were good at arithmetic, and the numbers on the two hides were added together, and the results were quickly verified.

"The Fierce Bull Department asked Rock City for a change of population, 36,672 people."

Yu Zheng's expression obviously became unnatural, and his eyes even flashed with cold hatred.

Tian Hao didn't care about this, he looked at the 10,000-level leader of the Fierce Bull Tribe, who was standing opposite, and issued an order in a majestic tone: "Count the people outside the city." ”

After waiting for a long time, Tianmad and the others immediately turned around and left. A few minutes later, dozens of members of the Rock City Warband, who had been prepared for a long time, entered the immigration brigade outside the city and counted them in order.

The counting lasted two hours. By the time Tianmad summarized the data of each team, cumulatively added up the results, and sent them to Tianhao, Yu Zheng was already very impatient. He walked around restlessly, but he was taken in the Rock City, surrounded by guards, so he had to suppress his inner resentment and not say a word.

Tian Hao glanced at the numbers written on the paper by Tian Mad and couldn't help but smile.

"Eighteen thousand and four." He raised the paper in his hand, and the mocking tone on his calm forehead was the prelude to the brewing storm: "Dear Commander Yu Zheng, this number is too bad, right?" ”

As he spoke, he threw the two animal skin documents at Yu Zheng's feet, and made a cold voice: "The document stamped with your patriarch's seal is indeed eighteen thousand and four people. What's going on? ”

Yu Zheng was silent for a few seconds, his fierce and angry gaze kept flashing in his eyes, there was no respect on his face, and arrogance and chagrin continued to release from his body: "That's all the exchange numbers that the king told me, you ask me, how do I know?" ”

He paused: "Of course, from Vicious Horn City to Rock City, on such a cold day, there will always be a few deaths." Anyway, my words have already been brought, and you have checked the paperwork, and I won't count the fraction, the total is thirty-six thousand, you hand over the person to me as soon as possible, and this matter will be over. ”

The Great Master Wu Peng hadn't spoken, and now he simply turned around and turned his back to Tianhao, looking at the densely packed crowd outside the city, and didn't know what to think.

Tianhao stared at Yu Zheng's face full of anger, and smiled coldly: "I don't have any interest in what happened to your fierce bull department. But your king is too stupid to be toyed with by a bastard like you...... Forget it, that's not the point. Let me ask you, why are all the people used for this replacement old, weak, sick and disabled? Why not even a strong man? ”

"This is the king's arrangement." Yu Zheng's eyes were gloomy, but he spoke with confidence, and he did not hide his ridicule: "If it weren't for His Majesty's order, do you think we would be willing to go back with so many pigs?" They eat a lot and it is difficult to feed, and for the sake of their little strength and can still use it, they can barely help them change a little, which is already very face-saving for you. Don't think that calling "City Lord" will slap you, you are not qualified to become a nobleman. ”

Tianhao fell silent.

He didn't know what was going on inside the Niu clan during the time when he was leading his army out to fight. But judging from Liao Qiu and Zonggu's attitudes, they should be as ignorant as themselves. The attitude of the Great Master was very strange, it stands to reason that he should be his supporter, but he came to Rock City ahead of schedule, and before that, he didn't say a word about the problems that might be caused by the population replacement of the Fierce Bull Division.

And looking at Wu Peng's current attitude, it is clear that he doesn't want to interfere.

After a long time, Tianhao let out a cold voice: "Take your people away, I won't change it." ”

"It can't be." Yu Zheng spoke a little slower than just now, not because he was afraid, but because he had to use this way to make Tianhao hear more clearly: "I have already brought people, so I must bring enough people back." ”

Tianhao stared at Yu Zheng's eyes, his eyes full of questions: "This is your king's original words?" ”

He was only a mere commander, and he would not dare to do so without a signal from a higher authority.

This is the biggest hole card in Yu Zheng's hand. Although he felt a little surprised to be told by Tianhao in person, he didn't have the slightest intention of backing down, nodded, his fierce eyes were full of threats, and even a little proud: "You're right." ”

Tianhao's eyes quickly gathered murderous intent: "It's okay to change it, but it has to be according to my standards." ”

"Your standards?" Yu Zheng grinned, revealing a mouthful of white teeth, contemptuous and satisfied.

"Your people are too thin, and they're full of old people and children." Tianhao raised his right index finger: "Three for one, this is my last concession." ”